Integrated Hearts
by adrontis
Summary: At Seika Academy, students are trained in a variety of martial arts. Misaki and Usui only know each other through their titles as the academy's "King" and "Queen" until they join the same team to compete in their school's renowned annual tournament. Neither expected friendly rivalry to form, or to end up having to share the same bedroom for the duration of the tournament. AU.
1. Prologue

INTEGRATED HEARTS

\- 0 -

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Maid-sama or any of its characters._

* * *

"15!"

Three lines of females took up the spaces near their respective walls, the latter adorned by a pair of uniform black sneakers for each occupied figure. Said figures waited patiently for the next count, lowered their bodies when it was called, and straightened up again. The same process repeated itself incessantly.

Their movements, albeit coming from different individuals, matched with military precision that could only be achieved through steadfast training. And steadfast training it was.

"30!"

As hands and feet began to slip from their original positions, one might also be able to see the beginning of shaking arms in just a handful, while the majority held on to their stability. For them, it was less of a competition with their neighbors and more with their former selves from the previous month's examinations.

"45!"

By then the handful of the students had fallen, either groaning in disappointment and defeat or applauding themselves for improving just a bit more.

Some were stronger than others in certain fields; the school's motto, " _Willpower over all,_ " was as motivational and adhered to as the school's tough reputation.

"60!"

At this benchmark, half of the large gymnasium collapsed, either due to the inability to continue, or the intentional decision not to. There were still other portions of the exam to go through, after all.

Those who had stopped were then instructed to move to the only vacant wall in the gym to watch the rest of the session play out.

"80!"

It was down to just the "elites," who were known for their remarkable strength, agility, endurance, and so forth. Once again, instead of with each other, they raced against the recession of their remaining strength and the amount of push-ups they could get in before they couldn't anymore.

In the end, it was always the Queen who would finish last, anyway.

"100!"

A busty blonde and a slim raven-haired girl were the last two standing—or still going, at least, since they weren't exactly _standing_. By chance they had been placed next to each other. The blonde turned her head slightly and let out a soft _psst_ in a —successful— attempt to catch her friend's attention.

"I won't be able to do much more," the blonde wheezed. "Good luck beating your previous record!"

"Sure, Maria," was the response, accompanied by a smirk. Misaki straightened her arms again when the next count came. She hadn't even reached the amount she did last time, but she was not completely out of breath yet.

At the number 110, Maria joined the rest of the students to watch her friend continue.

"120!"

Silent cheers grew in sound until chants of "Mi-sa-ki! Mi-sa-ki!" prompted their coach to count louder.

"130!"

 _I think that's enough,_ Misaki decided before she finally dropped down with an exhausted sigh at 140. It was 15 more than she did last time. Not outstanding, but still exceptional for an improvement made within the span of 30 days.

For a few seconds, she laid face down on the floor, her arms stacked on top of each other to serve as a cushion for her forehead. Then she pushed herself onto her knees and stood up, more than ready for a water break.

When the rest of the academy joined the girls at the water fountains, the lively conversations that were going on prior to their arrival quieted down notably, but picked up again just as quickly as it had hushed.

Seika was a special four-year academy that focused on teaching a variety of martial arts rather than normal subjects, which were also optional as elective courses. Students were required to reside on campus, so it was similar to a boarding school, but not quite.

It was a prestigious school that accepted only the best applicants, and even money couldn't help cases. Graduates usually went straight to jobs in the military field, or they could continue on to college. Health and law were two of the most popular majors for the latter.

For the first three years, the males and females were taught in separate buildings and had no interactions whatsoever. This was to ensure behavior and concentration.

Their senior year was when they moved to the main building to become co-ed, and there were still some unease amongst the current seniors, since it was only their third month and not all classes became mixed.

Misaki let her hair loose from its hair tie so she could redo her ponytail; stray strands had fallen out from all the exercise she'd done. Nearby, someone was looking for her.

He had a mischievous smirk and striking eyes, disheveled hair and a tall build. When he found her leaning lazily against a wall, he pushed himself off the one he was against and made his way to her.

His presence was acknowledged by a quick glance before Misaki looked away again, focusing on watching Maria chat with their friend Sakura. "Hey," he offered.

"What do you need, Usui?"

"What'd you get on the exams?" The boy asked, moving beside her to rest against the same wall. If there was one thing that Usui Takumi knew he had in common with Ayuzawa Misaki and vice versa, it was their sense of competition.

For the first time, they were able to find someone on par with themselves. Instead of looking at her, he checked out the other girls. Beyond the ones with masses of muscles were quite a few hot ones, and they were all perfectly fit. Although none of them were his type, he was still a guy with hormones.

Misaki stayed silent for a moment, then responded with, "The scores will be posted tomorrow."

He scoffed and turned to look at her—or rather the side of her face. "I wouldn't be asking you now if I planned to wait until tomorrow," he retorted. So she told him her score, and finally made an effort to look at him.

The smirk on his lips told her all she needed to know about what _he'd_ scored. Misaki rolled her eyes good-naturedly and vowed to beat him next month, not forgetting to remind him that she'd done it before.

"Sure you will, Ayuzawa," he teased as he pushed himself off the wall and left without a farewell. She didn't expect one. They were only on amicable terms, after all, and neither really had intentions to familiarize with the other.

The two were already comfortable enough with their own groups, and only became acquaintances because their friends had agreed that the academy's King and Queen should at least know each other.

The titles were not taken lightly by the academy's population, so just about everyone knew who Misaki and Usui were. It would've been ironic if they themselves weren't aware of each other.

As a result of their friends' meddling, Misaki and Usui were on a stage where they'd speak occasionally, but that was all, much to the disappointment of their friends, who had definitely expected more. "We just have to make it more," Sakura had reassured that day, a plan already formulating in her mind.

A month later was when the annual tournament was held. To call it a _big deal_ was an understatement. Classes were cancelled and students were called to gather at the school's auditorium to receive information about the much-anticipated event.

"As most of you should know from previous years, a team is only permissible if it consists of 5 members, no more, no less, and each has to specialize in a different form of martial arts. There may not be two karate students in one team, for example. The Western Annex will be open, where you will be required to reside in the same dorm as your teammates, regardless of gender, for the duration of the contest. The sign-up period is only 4 days long, and no late registrations will be accepted. The first challenge will be held in 2 weeks from then. Cheating _will_ result in an automatic expulsion."

Despite the announcement ending with a heavy warning, the audience was already buzzing with excitement before the headmaster even finished speaking. Friends exchanged glances and raised eyebrows in silent questions, grinned and shot OKs, ready to assemble their teams.

Ambitious ones eyed the King and Queen in hopes of recruiting or getting recruited, but unfortunately for them, Sakura and her reluctant comrades Aoi and Honoka had other plans for the pair.

"Let's form a team, guys!" Sakura suggested excitedly, grinning when Aoi and Honoka piped in half-heartedly with their approval. They'd grabbed and fled the scene with Misaki and Usui in record time. "And don't say that you don't plan on competing this year, Misa," Sakura added. "Everyone knows that you do."

"It doesn't matter to me," Misaki said with a shrug, signaling her agreement. Convincing Usui was next, and fortunately, he gave a likewise shrug.

And so Plan A began.

* * *

 _\- unedited_

The setting is in an English-speaking country, although the relevant characters are mostly Japanese.

I'm a sporadic writer, so I'm not going to sugarcoat the fact that this story might not be completed. I've tried and dropped several stories before, but I'm hoping this time I can push through, because the AU is one that I've never tried before. Who knows?

R&R


	2. Chapter 1

INTEGRATED HEARTS

\- 1 -

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Maid-sama or any of its characters._

 **maze:** Not at all, lol.

* * *

UPOV

Once again, he was looking for her—the girl who contained the expanse of a starless night in her tresses. Usui was by no means a romantic, but Misaki's hair was what had left the strongest impression on him. Plus, their first meeting was during the night-time.

Considering the nature of their school, he found the length of her hair odd. Being a female wasn't required to see how inconvenient waist-length hair would be, but its triviality kept him from asking her. The reasons could be personal; a territory he preferred to stay away from.

Going out of his way to look for other people was also something he tried to avoid, but since he was the first one to find out about the dorm room his team was assigned, the consultant put him charge of informing his teammates. For a while, he wandered the halls of the senior building aimlessly, one hand tucked in the pocket of his pants, the other gripping the slip of paper with the information he was supposed to spread.

It would be rotten luck if any the others happened to be in either one of the underclassmen buildings, but the chances were next to none. Although he wasn't sure about Sakura, Aoi, or the other girl, he knew that Misaki was an aikido student, so the aikido room was a feasible place to look. Classes ended quite some time ago, but he had heard others talk about her devoted training hours.

"Hey, is that you, Takumi?" It was Aoi's voice. Usui stopped walking and turned around so the smaller boy could catch up. When Aoi was close enough, Usui lifted the hand that held the paper and showed it to him. "How about informing Sakura, Ayuzawa, and the other girl about this?" Usui suggested, despite having nothing else to do. Aoi glanced at the number on the paper and nodded.

"Sure—" He then paused, as if suddenly remembering something. "—I can't, I still haven't packed my things yet! Misaki's in the aikido room, by the way." Usui arched an eyebrow, catching the obvious lie and noticing the way Aoi was awkwardly avoiding his eyes.

They still had 3 days until the transition, and only a minimal amount of belongings were allowed to be brought since it was a temporary change. Rather than call him out on it, Usui sighed and stuffed the paper into his shirt pocket. He wasn't too far from the aikido room, anyway.

"Oh, I was going to ask you this," Aoi said just as Usui was about to walk away. "Why do you and Misaki call each other by your last names? We're not in Japan, and it seems like you're the only ones who do it." Pure curiosity was in his voice.

"She started it," was all Usui said. During their first meeting, Misaki had addressed him using his last name, so he'd decided to do the same. Her lack of complaint ensured him. Aoi looked confused, but said "oh" and waved goodbye, scurrying away in a direction that definitely didn't lead to the normal dormitory.

Alone again, Usui began heading towards C Hall, where the training rooms were situated. A handful of people and multiple rooms were passed until he found the one Misaki was in. From his spot behind the door, he could hear aggressive exclamations and the sound of a punching bag getting beaten up.

He slid the door open unceremoniously, and was slightly perplexed when he saw that it wasn't aikido she was practicing.

"Taekwondo?" His inquiry alerted her of his presence, and she threw another series of fast high kicks at the punching bag in front of her before stopping. They were the only ones in the room.

She moved to grab her water bottle from the floor for a swig, chest rising and falling rapidly as her lungs fought for air. Sweat was beaded on her forehead, her exposed shoulders were gleaming, and a few tendrils of her hair hugged her neck.

"Yeah," she said, slightly breathless. She downed the bottle completely and capped it before placing it back on the floor. "It's better to be well-rounded, even if my main focus is aikido," she explained, swiping an arm across her forehead.

Usui offered a "hm" as he reached his hand into his shirt pocket and took out the wrinkled paper that was tucked in there, waving it slightly. Misaki took the hint and walked towards him, asking "What's that?" as she neared. She reached him quickly, so he didn't respond and instead let her see for herself.

A nod indicated that she had finished scanning the paper's contents. Again, Usui tried to pass his informant task, to Misaki this time, but she shook her head. "Being lazy won't benefit you, Usui," she chided him.

"I don't need to practice," he smirked and leaned against the doorway, moving a hand up to push away a lock of blond hair that had fallen across his forehead.

"Oh, really?" She huffed.

To him, a lot of people weren't worth getting to know, but the unfaltering kick Misaki aimed at his head, almost forcing him to stagger back, suggested that maybe she had more to offer.

It took a lot to faze him, even more to catch him off guard, and as his hair resettled in irritating positions in front of his eyes from the force of her deliberate kick, intended to only skim his bangs, she was cracking up at the startled look on his face.

"Y-You should see your face right now," she managed to wheeze out between laughs, moving from the doorway to the wall beside it for support. Usui recovered quickly, but she was another story. For a whole minute she had her head and hands pressed against the wall, heaving randomly from sporadic laughter as he watched on with amusement, despite him being the reason for her hysteric state.

"Hah.. Okay, sorry," she reassured, fighting to school her features into impassivity. "It's just funny to see your face look anything that's not deadpan." A snigger accompanied her words.

Then, it was her turn to be surprised when she found herself pinned against the wall by his body and _foot_ —he had lifted his right leg in replacement of his right hand in order to mock her kick, so the position was an odd one.

His left hand was placed near her head, corresponding leg down, and right elbow wrapped loosely around his right knee while that leg was bent with the foot high on the wall.

Smirking, he saw that her bangs were muddled from training and being rubbed against the wall when she was laughing a moment ago, and she certainly didn't look so smug anymore. He made a note to tell her that 'flustered' looked good on her as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Don't you think that was a bit rowdy, _Queen-sama_?" The taunt was obvious in his voice and the way he addressed her in Japanese. They were both aware of the weight their titles carried, but unlike Usui, who couldn't care less, Misaki tried her best to set good examples for her peers.

As if from a cliche movie scene, Sakura popped in at that exact moment, abruptly drawing Misaki's attention away from him. "Oh my," Sakura's eyes widened when she spotted the pair. She sent a wink and was gone before Misaki could start protesting.

When Misaki looked back at him again, he could easily see the aggravation on her face. She placed both of her hands firmly on his chest, earning a raised eyebrow from him.

"Get off me," she demanded.

"I'm not on you," he wiggled his limbs for emphasis. None were directly touching her. "If anything, _your_ hands are on me."

She narrowed her eyes threateningly at his suggestive tone, but he was enjoying himself too much to be intimidated. Said hands made an unsuccessful attempt to push him away, although the impact did force him to readjust his legs slightly. She was strong, he knew. He watched her with a fixated gaze, waiting for her next move with almost childish anticipation.

Suddenly and with rapid speed, her head ducked down and rammed into his abdomen, while her right knee shot out towards his crotch, prompting him to lower his raised leg to block the attack.

He didn't have enough time to prevent her head from connecting with his midsection, however. The blow enabled her to escape, but not before he called out:

"'Flustered' looks good on you!"

MPOV

She avoided Usui until she _had_ to see him, which was when it was time to move dorms. It was mainly because she didn't want to deal with him, since she was still a little ruffled from their last encounter.

Given that he almost always had a poker-face on, she'd deemed him as an impassive person, which she would've preferred, but she couldn't have been more wrong. Instead, he turned out to be a pervert who liked to taunt and mess with her. Her discovery of his actual nature almost made her regret agreeing to join the same team as him. She wasn't stupid though; he was a valuable asset.

The way he made her feel infuriated her—she _hated_ feeling helpless, but at least she was able to find satisfaction in his reaction when she threw a kick at him, and when she managed to headbutt him in the stomach.

It was with great reluctant that she dragged herself out of bed that Saturday.

Seeing that the bed across from hers was empty, she assumed her roommate, Maria, had already left without waking her up. Misaki looked at the time on her phone; 11:20AM. Just like with normal high school, she didn't have classes on weekends, and while there was no established rule that said the teams had to meet at their new dorm at a specific time, everyone tended to do it as early as possible.

She quickly began packing clothes and other belongings into the medium-sized suitcase she had resting against her nightstand. A few neutral-tone shirts, two sets of matching workout clothes, jeans, undergarments, and a jacket were folded neatly and strategically placed in the suitcase.

In the spare spaces, she fitted in a watch, her phone charger, some pencils, erasers, pens, and finally, a can of pepper spray. Minus the last item, this was her usual setup for tournament season every year. If she forgot something, she just had to return to her original dorm room and grab it.

"24," she reminded herself as she changed and headed for the bathroom to fix her messy appearance. Forgetting her assigned dorm number would be troublesome.

She wasn't the only one moving to the annex at this hour. As she made her way across campus to the building that had "WESTERN ANNEX" designated on it, she kept an eye out for Usui. Having to walk with him was not something she wanted to have to do.

Fortunately, she made it to the correct dorm room without any problems or distractions and upon arrival, saw that she was the last to arrive. Honoka and Sakura were in the kitchen area, most likely making snacks, and the guys were seated at opposite ends of a beige couch, Aoi on his phone and Usui looking out the window. They all turned their attention to her when she entered.

"Took you long enough," Honoka chastised, walking towards her with a bowl of trail mix. Misaki thanked her and scooped out a small handful. "I thought Maria would wake me up when she does," Misaki justified sheepishly. "But she didn't."

"Sure," Honoka rolled her eyes. She asked the raven-haired girl if she had breakfast yet, and swiftly turned back to the kitchen when the answer was no.

Honoka was a hot-and-cold person who never failed to be blunt about what she truly thought, but deep inside, Misaki knew that she cared, and the fact that Honoka was making her breakfast proved her point.

Sakura suggested that Misaki explore their new dorm room, and there was something off in Sakura's voice, a hint of smugness, as if she knew something Misaki didn't, but Misaki brushed it off. "Okay," she said, entering the hall that she assumed led to the bedrooms.

The whole time, she avoided looking at Usui, but knew that his eyes were on her. She relaxed a bit once he was out of sight, and then scolded at herself for even letting him have so much effect on her in the first place. They barely knew each other—she needed to stop acting so much like a coward, it was getting ridiculous.

On the other hand, she discovered that the dorm had two bathrooms, three bedrooms, and an adjoined kitchen/living room area. In her underclassmen years, there was no need to move dorms because there were less people participating due to hesitance and of course, the gender separation. The Western Annex had the sole purpose of accommodating senior tournament contestants.

Seika Academy being a prestigious school meant that its buildings were more luxurious than most, and the annex was no exception. The rooms weren't spacious, but it was still akin to a small, minimal house. Misaki noticed something odd though.

Two of the bedrooms contained bunk beds and one was overall smaller with one bed, but that wasn't what she found strange. The single bedroom had an unpacked suitcase and belongings in it. It was the same with another bedroom. Did everyone else select their rooms and unpack already?

"Yep," Sakura confirmed when Misaki went back to ask. "Aoi has the small room. Honoka and I are sharing one of the bigger ones." It took a moment to sink in.

"I'm sharing with Usui?!" She exclaimed in disbelief, spinning around with narrowed eyes to point an accusing finger at said man. He regarded her with an amused expression on his face. "Did you plan this?" She spat out, but Sakura rushed to his defense.

"No, no, Misaki! We all agreed on it. You were taking kind of long so we did it without you. Aoi didn't want to room with me or Honoka, and Takumi didn't mind which room he got."

"Can't Aoi room with Usui?" Misaki suggested, desperate to get out of the situation she was placed in. Aoi answered this time, speaking almost as if he'd rehearsed it. "I want my privacy," he deadpanned.

The same could be said for Misaki. It was unreasonable for her to room with a guy and then have Aoi talk about the matter of _privacy_ , but she was never one to put her own interests ahead of others'. She also remembered the vow she made earlier with herself to not let Usui affect her.

"Fine," she sighed. "If that's what you guys want, I'll go with it," she agreed, albeit sullenly. Aoi thanked her with a touch of guilt in his voice.

"No problem," she offered a small smile for reassurance and went to her new room to unpack.

* * *

 _edited by kawaiikkkk ~ 2.5k_

R&R~


	3. Note

Hey, guys. Not an update, sorry. In case anyone was wondering if I was planning to abandon this story after the first chapter, no, I am not.

I started it the last few days of my break, and since then I've been swathed with schoolwork. I have a moderate amount of homework and unit tests from multiple classes to study for, but currently, the most stressing assignment is a tri-fold board project I'm working on for history.

With 2/5 slacking members, a dark blue tri-fold (who would even have a white marker for that?) one of my group members forgot to inform me about, a broken color printer in the library, (dark blue, black, gray, and white are the colors I'm stuck with now), and two class periods for research and then _finishing_ the whole thing, plus an advertisement poster for our "exhibit," I'm way too stressed.

Thankfully, my teacher did cooperate and allowed the weekend for work time, and now the project is due in a few days.

So that's just been what's going on with me lately, and in my spare class time I've been jolting down a summary for chapter 2. Once all this work clears up, which should be around next week (unless more projects come up..) I'll be up and writing again!


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